Derek is a Marine Special Operations Officer who was paralyzed in 2012 while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan. He recently founded Spinal Singularity, a company that designs devices to improve the quality of life for people with Spinal Cord Injury and Disease.

The University Club will host the 2nd Annual Marine Corps Veterans Ball Celebration on Saturday, November 17, 2018. This event invites all veterans to celebrate their service and the Marine Corps birthday.

San Diego, CA - This November, the University Club atop Symphony Towers will host the 2nd Annual Marine Corps Veterans Birthday Ball Celebration to honor those who have served and celebrate the successes of veterans. This Celebration is designed to promote tradition and camaraderie as well as maintain a venue for Marine Corps veterans (all veterans are welcome) to celebrate the Marine Corps birthday (original date is November 10, 1775). Proceeds from the event will benefit Toys For Tots and All-Star Vets (a Marine veteran non-profit organization helping to reduce veteran suicide, homelessness and negative mental health symptoms using sports, recreation and wellness activities as the catalyst).

Save the date for this special event, and purchase your tickets today before they sell out!

On the fence about coming? See what others are saying about sharing their time with our Marine Corps Service members as we celebrate a very special day.

“This is exactly what the veteran community needed. There are lots of things about our time in service that we all miss - getting dressed up with my date for the annual Ball is one of them! What a perfect night to be honored for our service. The ball was exactly like when I was still active duty!” - Kalani Creutzburg, Marine Corps veteran

"The 2017 Marine Corps Veterans Ball was the first time I ever had a chance to go to a military ball. Since i never had a ball to compare to, I compared to industry gala's, professional events and other personal/charity events that I've been to. It exceeded my expectations and I was blown away with the event in the way it was organized, the venue and the cause. I am excited to attend next year!" - Sean Park, Navy veteran

"The inaugural Marine Corps Birthday Ball celebration was exactly what we as Marines miss so much when we separate from active service and from our brothers and sisters in arms. To start a new tradition for our San Diego area Marine veterans is historical and something Marines in San Diego have been asking for for a long time. I'm so proud to be a part of this event and look forward to celebrating with my fellow Marines again this November." Dean Dauphinais, Marine Corps veteran

Benefactors

A special thanks to our Benefactors, All Star Vets and Toys For Tots

All Star Vets

Toy For Tots

ABOUT

"On November 10th, 2016, I put on KUSI and saw all the Marine Corps Birthday celebrations that were being reported on that day. I immediately had a thought to myself - where do Marine veterans go to celebrate the Marine Corps birthday? Thus started the idea of having a Marine Corps Veterans Birthday Ball Celebration. But the idea wasn't just to solely celebrate the USMC birthday, it was to celebrate Marines. I wanted to create a venue where Marine veterans can celebrate the birthday, honor those who have fallen, raise money for veteran non-profits, and come together to celebrate the successes of veterans outside of the military. So, welcome to my dream come true of always serving others - it is simply what all Marines do. Semper Fidelis!"

KEVIN CORTES

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The Founder of the Marine Corps Veterans Birthday Ball Celebration, Kevin Cortes, is a retired Marine Corps officer who had a vision in 2016 of hosting an event where Marine veterans can celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday. He also is one of the founders of The Veterans Beer Club, a San Diego-based networking group that builds the bridge between transitioning active-duty servicemembers and employed veterans/patriots for employment purposes while visiting different breweries in San Diego.